Chuck Most Posted April 6 Posted April 6 It was mid August of 1985, and Frank and Rose Kearney walked into Brandall Dodge in Sickles, Michigan. They had their end of a bargain to hold up. When their oldest son Scott turned 16, he was given a junker '68 Ford F250. He was told if he managed to keep it on the road, didn't blow it up or wreck it, he'd be getting a new car after graduation. Scott, who'd landed a job with Wheels Magazine and had subsequently basically rebuilt the truck from this in 1983... ...To this in 1985... ...had obviously held up his end. And so it was that Scott became the proud owner of a brand new 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z. Originally red, it wasn't long before Scott decided to really make it his own. Wheels Magazine hadn't done a "customize a brand new car" thing in quite a while, and so it was that Scott set to work on the Daytona. As it turned out, he never submitted an article about anything he did to the car, but he still had fun. Scott didn't document anything he did to the car for the magazine, the only time the Daytona was ever printed in Wheels was for an article on dynos for front wheel drive applications, before he'd started modifying it. It also appeared on the cover of the March 1987 issue as part of the "Modern Muscle Machinery" issue (along with a Mustang GT and a GNX), though the car itself wasn't featured. Scott added custom wheels, low profile tires, and a custom louvered hood. He also lowered the car and shaved the side markers and door handles. More than satisfied with the car's factory performance, Scott was happy to more or less leave the rest of the car alone. The metallic pink color was actually his girlfriend Kelli's idea. His younger sister Hannah had similar feelings. Originally the car was left in the factory red, but a hail storm when the car was barely a year old led to a complete repaint. Scott used the Daytona as his main mode of transportation. He used it on his honeymoon with Kelli in 1990 (during which they drove it to the Daytona 500, four days after tying the knot. He used it right up until April of 1993, when it was totaled in a collision at an intersection. It was replaced with a Stealth R/T which remained stock during Scott's ownership. The model is the MPC 1986 Daytona kit, and aside from the tires (from an RC2 reissue of the Monkees Mobile) and the custom hood from an '88 with the '86 front edge grafted on, it's out of the box. Needs a little touch up with the blackout paint here and there. I did use the '88 dash and manual shifter, but I didn't change the '86 transaxle. Honestly I can't tell the difference and I'd imagine 95% of the people who see the kit parts won't either. 🤣 9
Valvefloat Posted April 7 Posted April 7 9 hours ago, Chuck Most said: It was mid August of 1985, and Frank and Rose Kearney walked into Brandall Dodge in Sickles, Michigan. They had their end of a bargain to hold up. When their oldest son Scott turned 16, he was given a junker '68 Ford F250. He was told if he managed to keep it on the road, didn't blow it up or wreck it, he'd be getting a new car after graduation. Scott, who'd landed a job with Wheels Magazine and had subsequently basically rebuilt the truck from this in 1983... ...To this in 1985... ...had obviously held up his end. And so it was that Scott became the proud owner of a brand new 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z. Originally red, it wasn't long before Scott decided to really make it his own. Wheels Magazine hadn't done a "customize a brand new car" thing in quite a while, and so it was that Scott set to work on the Daytona. As it turned out, he never submitted an article about anything he did to the car, but he still had fun. Scott didn't document anything he did to the car for the magazine, the only time the Daytona was ever printed in Wheels was for an article on dynos for front wheel drive applications, before he'd started modifying it. It also appeared on the cover of the March 1987 issue as part of the "Modern Muscle Machinery" issue (along with a Mustang GT and a GNX), though the car itself wasn't featured. Scott added custom wheels, low profile tires, and a custom louvered hood. He also lowered the car and shaved the side markers and door handles. More than satisfied with the car's factory performance, Scott was happy to more or less leave the rest of the car alone. The metallic pink color was actually his girlfriend Kelli's idea. His younger sister Hannah had similar feelings. Originally the car was left in the factory red, but a hail storm when the car was barely a year old led to a complete repaint. Scott used the Daytona as his main mode of transportation. He used it on his honeymoon with Kelli in 1990 (during which they drove it to the Daytona 500, four days after tying the knot. He used it right up until April of 1993, when it was totaled in a collision at an intersection. It was replaced with a Stealth R/T which remained stock during Scott's ownership. The model is the MPC 1986 Daytona kit, and aside from the tires (from an RC2 reissue of the Monkees Mobile) and the custom hood from an '88 with the '86 front edge grafted on, it's out of the box. Needs a little touch up with the blackout paint here and there. I did use the '88 dash and manual shifter, but I didn't change the '86 transaxle. Honestly I can't tell the difference and I'd imagine 95% of the people who see the kit parts won't either. 🤣 what paint did you use on the Z?
Chuck Most Posted April 7 Author Posted April 7 25 minutes ago, Valvefloat said: what paint did you use on the Z? Just plain old Testors Electric Pink.
Valvefloat Posted April 7 Posted April 7 5 minutes ago, Chuck Most said: Just plain old Testors Electric Pink. And is that the moebius ford?
ea0863 Posted April 7 Posted April 7 Love all three, and the story. I have to admit though - - - the weathering on the first truck is incredible!
ncbuckeye67 Posted April 7 Posted April 7 Wow, talk about a "dynamic duo! Actually, all three look amazing.
kurth Posted April 8 Posted April 8 I love the story, it was really fun to read, and a great way to tie all the models together. The weathering on the first truck is perfect, that surface rust is awesome. Then grafting the edge of the hood? That sounds like it was quite a challenge to get it that clean.
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